Awake and Alive
by grimreaper1373
Summary: Commander Reno Shepard has destroyed the Reapers, and is assumed dead, but awakens on the ruined Citadel, lucky enough to be on a part that still has air. Shepard has endured and still hasn't quit, and he never will. I just kinda want to continue the ending. (Male Shepard/Tali)
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hey everyone how's it going? Here's another story of mine (Only the second.) I love the Mass Effect series, and I liked the ending, but that was only after I got the Extended Cut. If you have access to Xbox Live or the Playstation Network, I recommend getting this DLC, because it majorly improves the ending. Afterwards though, I felt the need to write this to make the ending even more bearable, and to continue a bit more on Commander Shepard's story. So, here you go. WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW

Awake and Alive

Chapter 1

Reno Shepard was lying in a pile of rubble on the Zakera Ward arm, unconcious to the world. Shepard had chosen to destroy the Reapers and, after destroying the tube, the explosion blasted him from the platform he was on, sending him spiraling into the Ward. He had landed in the bottom streets, his body coming to a not so gentle rest in the rubble, among other bodies of turians,humans, asari,volus, and salarians.

Despite his extremely hardened bones, courtesy of Cerberus, many had still broken, including ones in his arms and legs, along with many broken ribs, and the bullet wounds from The Illusive Man.

It was a miracle he had even survived.

His eyes blinked open and slid back shut, and then repeated the process for a couple of minutes. Finally, they stayed open and he gulped air into his lungs. The soldier felt a sharp stabbing sensation in his stomach and he howled in pain. He tried to suck in another breath and the same pain shot through his abdomen. His hand slid down to his midsection and felt the bullet holes, and the fresh blood that was leaking from them.

His memories returned swiftly, of the Illusive Man, the explosion, his friends flashing before his eyes, then the nothingness that followed. Then he remembered the man who was like his father, David Anderson. Tears flowed down his cheeks, and he began to sob. But as he did, there was more agony and he quickly silenced himself. He felt the blood again and his survival instincts kicked in. The man known for his strength and determination slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, all the pain being drowned out with his screams.

Reno used a metal pole jutting from the rubble to pull himself up into standing, trying not to give into unconsciousness. His feet found their way onto stable ground and he rose, hunched over, to make the pain slightly more bearable. He used the long pole as a brace and crept forward, using every bit of strength he could muster. After the pole's length ran out, he had to use the wall of a nearly destroyed building.

After making it a few feet, he tripped over a dead batarian, and fell onto all fours, blood and tears dripping from his face, and he yelled out,"Motherfucker!" He almost gave up, but then one face flashed before him. "T-Tali..."

This one word that he uttered had the effect of the strongest drug, or a lightning bolt hitting him. He painfully rose, and with the fury of a god, he forced his body forward, ignoring the pain coursing through him. He got further and further down the street, until his body couldn't take anymore. He fell onto his face and rolled over, staring into the sky at the rather large bird coming towards him. But then he heard the noise and knew it wasn't a bird. The gunship's blinding spotlight landed on him and quickly descended to the ground. The last thing Reno heard was a human voice say,"My God. It's him! We found him! Hurry up, he doesn't look good!"

...

Shepard awoke to blinding lights above him. The pain of seeing them made him shut his eyes tightly. He slowly opened them again and forced them to stay open until they adjusted. After they did, he began to notice the breathing mask on his face and the wires strapped up to his arms, legs and chest. He turned his head and saw the hospital room he was in. There was a window looking out at space, a table at his bedside, and a door alongside a window looking out at a hallway to his left.

Then he noticed the rather comical image of grunt slumped over in a chair obviously too small for him, asleep, with strange snores emanating from his mouth. Without thinking, Reno tore his mask from his face and groaned out a half-silent,"Grunt?"

Grunt's reply was a grunt, then a snort and then,"Huh? What? Damn pyjaks. Stolen food..."

Shepard uttered Grunt's name again, with better results. Grunt's head sleepily lifted up with another snort and his eyes slid open. He said,"Shepard? Shepard!" He jumped up and walked the short distance between the bed and the chair and laughed."Ha! Not even a Reaper can kill you! And you killed all of them!"

"Damn Grunt. I just got up. Quiet down man."

"Aw quit your whining. You sound like a dying Rachni."

"Heh, that's really funny. Where the hell am I," Reno asked.

"On one of Hackett's ships. They brought you here so the media wouldn't swarm. You've been out for three weeks," Grunt said.

"Three weeks? What happened to me?"

"Lots of broken bones, torn ligaments, bruising, burns and some gunshots wounds," answered Chakwas as she walked into the room.

"Karin?"

"Hi Reno," she said as she walked over and placed a hand on his head. "Fever's gone. Very good."

"Thanks Doc. For patching me up."

"You don't have to thank me Reno. I have to scold you first for running into a Reaper laser."

"I guess I earned a good scolding. Where is everyone?"

"Reno, I'm sorry, but, well...we lost contact with Normandy."

"No. No, no, no! Don't say that. They can't be gone. They just fucking can't be," yelled Shepard, as he angrily tore the wires from his body. He tried to sit up, and it took the force of a krogan to hold him down. "Lay back down Shepard. You're not ready to get up yet,"said Grunt as he tried to hold Reno down.

"The hell I ain't." Reno pushed Grunt with surprising force, surprising the young krogan. Reno quickly tried to get up, and then he felt something prick him. His body relaxed against his will and he slid back down onto the bed. The last thing he heard was Chakwas saying,"I'm sorry." Then he drifted into sleep.

AN: So, how'd I do? I tried to keep it mostly realistic (as much as Mass Effect can get, anyways.) I know it was pretty short, but that's just because it was the first chapter. If you have any comments, be it praise or flames, feel free to leave a review.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: All right, I'm back with another chapter. And on a holiday too. Since it's Christmas break, I may update once or maybe even twice more, so yeah. Okay, here's Chapter 2.

Chapter 2

Shepard awoke again in the same room, on the same bed. The memories of the last time he woke came back.**I guess I did react a bit too violently. But how else was I supposed to react! I just learned that a lot of my friends could be M.I.A. or K.I.A. I mean that's just BS! I save the whole damn galaxy, and for what!? To see my friends dead!? **He sighed. "I'll find them," he said out loud. "I'll find them."

He felt around his body and, feeling no wires or medi-gel despensers, he pulled himself to a sitting position. He slung his legs over the edge of the bed and slowly stood up. He succeeded rather easily and turned to the mirror above the bedstand. He examined his shirtless torso and saw scars running across his chest, but nothing major. He saw no scars on his face, surprisingly.

He turned back around, his green eyes took in his surroundings, for he was able to better survey the room, now that he was standing. He realized he was in a captain's cabin of the ship. "Huh. I guess this would be Hackett's room." Reno wanted to go find Grunt and Chakwas again, but he also wanted to have a nice, warm shower before. He chose to find them first, then talk to Hackett.

He exited the room and found Chakwas standing further down the hall, speaking with another doctor. The commander walked down the hall towards them. As he approached, the male doctor pointed at Reno, and Chakwas turned and began to stride towards him. "Reno, you should be resting."

"I'm fine, Doc. I'm not feeling any real pain right now. Physically anyways," he said.

"I know. I'm sorry about the Normamdy. You're not the only one who had friends aboard. Sorry for sedating you, by the way."

"No, it's fine. I shouldn't have reacted that way. I was just so angry. I save the galaxy, just to lose my family."

"I know how you feel. But I'm still sorry. I knocked you back out for a day. Anyways, Hackett needs to see you. Right this way."

...

When they arrived on the bridge, Shepard was greeted by the Admiral. Reno saluted, and Hackett returned it. "Shepard," the Admiral said. "Good job with the Crucible. It's because of you we still draw breath. My condolences for the Normandy."

"They could still be alive, Admiral."

"I'm glad you still have hope, Commander. But I have a question. What happened to Anderson?"

"He's...he didn't make it sir. The Illusive Man was at the activation chamber. He...well, he did something. He controlled my and Anderson's minds." Reno lowered his head. "He made me shoot Anderson."

Reno felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw that it was Hackett's."It wasn't your fault Shepard," he said. "The Illusive Man was a coward, always using others for his dirty work, even in the end. What happened to him?"

"He was indoctrinated, sir. When he was about to execute David, I shot his worthless ass in the chest," Reno said.

"Good. That's one less problem to worry about. Anyways, Commander, I have something I need you to see. If you'll follow me, I'll lead you to it."

...

Reno followed the admiral back down the halls, until they stopped at the room Shepard was staying in. "I took the liberty of having some formal attire brought for the occasion that we are to be going to. I figured you may want a change of clothes anyway. There is also a shower in there that you may use," said Hackett.

"May I ask the occasion, sir," wondered Reno.

"If you haven't guessed yet, it is your awards ceremony. Mainly a formality. We need to show the galaxy that their savior is still ticking," replied the admiral.

"Yes sir."

"We'll wait out here."

The commander then went to get prepared for the taxing experience to come.

...

Shepard came back out, dressed in the blue and gold colored clothing usually worn by Executive Officers or Admirals. Reno wasn't really looking forward to the ceremony, but he could see why it was necessary. "You look good Reno," said the doctor.

"Commander, I know you probably don't want to do this. If it's any consolation, I've restricted it to 3 cameras," said Hackett.

"Thanks Admiral," said Reno.

"No problem. Now, come on. The galaxy is waiting."

Reno followed the admiral, and when they neared the door marked _Cafeteria_, Hackett told him,"Here we are. This was the only room big enough for the ceremony. Don't worry, we had it cleaned. Now, there are going to be mostly soldiers and their families in here, so address them too."

"Don't worry, sir. I've given a few speeches over the years."

"All right. After you, Commander."

They entered the rather spacious room and the three cameras turned their way. Chakwas went and found a seat, while Hackett followed Reno up onto the stage that was erected at the front of the room. As Shepard walked up the stairs, the two marines standing at opposite ends of the stage saluted and one of them said loudly,"Officer on deck!" The soldiers in the crowd all stood and saluted. Everyone else also stood and even though they were not in the military, also saluted.

The commander walked up behind the podium and saluted, then said,"At ease!" Everyone sat back down. "Hello my fellow soldiers. It is an honor to be up here, giving this speech to all of you brave men and women, and your families. I regret that billions of others do not have the chance to be here, and I grieve with everyone for the losses, both military and civilian. But we are here, and their memories will live on, hoo-ah?"

All the servicemen and women in the room gave a loud,"Hoo-ah!" Reno could almost feel the room quake, and he could almost hear everyone watching at home or on their omni-tools say,"Hoo-ah!"

"Now, as you can tell, I'm still alive. I took quite a beating, but I'm still alive. But for some reason, the ship I served on is not, and neither are the people who served on her beside me. Because of this, I'd like to say a few things about each one of my squadmates." After saying this, Shepard stood up as straight as he could muster, then began.

"Ashley Williams was a great soldier, who was always there for her family and her friends. She stood beside me from the very beginning, and I may not know her family, but I'm sure we both grieve with the same amount of sadness."

"James Vega was another close friend and a valued marine. He had a nickname for me and it was pretty accurate. He always called me 'Loco'. Me running right into Harbinger's laser didn't really disprove him. He was to join the N7 program when the war was over, but sadly, he won't get that chance."

"Liara T'soni was also there from the near beginning. She was one of those who I would confide in for advice, and she was one of the smartest women in the entire galaxy. She was, for an asari, very young and very smart, but her life has been cut short, and that breaks me internally everytime I think about it." Reno almost choked up at that, and had to hang his head for a few seconds to compose himself. Then he continued.

"Sorry. Okay, moving on." **God, how am I gonna get through these next two**_**. **_"Garrus Vakarian was my closest friend and the closest thing I could've had to a brother. He was with me almost as long as Ash was, and that was a close bond that'll never be broken. Wait for me at the bar buddy." Reno's mind was screaming internally, and he wanted to just cut himself off from the rest of the world. But he had to get his last squadmate into the minds of everyone.

"Tali'Zorah vas Rannoch was always beside me, and was also there from the beginning, beside Garrus, Ashley, and Liara. She was a proud member of the Quarian people and a symbol of greatness across the Quarians. She always stood up for what she believed, and, well, that was why I loved her. Keelah Se'lai."

Reno did choke up that time, but the audience didn't seem to mind. They all most likely understood what he was going through. He looked up and said,"None of you will ever be forgotten. Now, this is the time to rebuild, both your lives without loved ones, and the cities and everything else destroyed in the war. But never forget those left behind."

The crowd stood and applauded loudly. Reno stepped back from the podium, and the Admiral brought the medals over to be pinned on his Reno's chest. "These are the highest honors that could possibly be rewarded in the human military," said Hackett. "The Medal of Honor, and the Distinguished Service Medal, along with another Star of Tera. You have more than earned it, Commander." Reno shook Hackett's hand and turned back to the crowd and saw that they had again stood to salute him. He saluted back and said,"Thank you."

"Shepard, if you'll follow me, I have something else to show you," said Hackett. Reno followed him off stage and back through the door.

"With all due respect sir, I would rather be alone right now," Reno said.

"I know, Shepard, but you'll want to see this."

...

"You and I are now the only ones that know this. We believe we have found the Normandy,"explained the admiral.

"Sir?"

"During the ceremony, we intercepted a distress signal. It wasn't until now that analysts found that the code buried in the signal was from a frigate, which, as you know, is the type of ship the Normandy is. The only problem is that it's a whole other star cluster away, in a solar system we haven't even discovered yet. We have a team on standby."

"How could you have a team already assembled? You just got the distress signal," asked a already bewildered Shepard.

"We were actually planning to send a team beforehand into the general area of where we lost contact after the Crucible fired. We were just waiting for you to wake up. If you're up to it of course."

"Hell yes, sir. When do we leave?"

"You ship out at 0800 tomorrow. But first, I'm going to show you your team."

Reno followed the admiral now with renewed vigor and a new purpose.

AN: Okay, how'd I do? Did you like Shepard's speech-ish thingy? I know it wasn't much, but I never was good at writing speeches. Also, does it seem like I'm rushing it a bit? Or is it maybe a bit too short? Please tell me in a review. Happy Holidays.


End file.
